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D.C. DeMets

Professor of Geophysics
Ph.D. 1988, Northwestern University

phone: (608) 262-8598

email: chuck@geology.wisc.edu

The general goal of my research is to characterize the kinematics and dynamics of crustal deformation in the present and geologic past. This includes motion of rigid plates over the surface of the earth, deformation within the broad deforming zones that often separate plate interiors, and localized deformation between, during, and after earthquakes. My research programs and interests span much of the globe and include field-based work and modeling. I have active GPS projects in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, and Oaxaca in western Mexico, Jamaica Honduras, and El Salvador in the Caribbean, and California. In addition, I am actively engaged in modeling of global plate kinematics, regional-scale plate kinematics in the Indian ocean, and kinematics of the Rivera and Cocos plates. Finally, I am actively engaged in reduction of GPS data from continuously operating GPS sites spanning the globe, with principal emphasis on the North American plate and Mexico.

Please follow the link to my personal Web page for more information about my field projects and other work.

I teach introductory environmental geology, "Mountains and Moving Plates", graduate-level tectonophysics, and undergraduate global geophysics.

When I'm not doing research, I serve on the department Finance committee, the department council, and as editor of the department alumni newsletter. I've also served terms as an associate editor for Geology, the Journal of Geophysical Research, the Journal of Geodynamics, and the Journal of Physics of the Earth.